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The store will be closing in a few weeks, its owner reported.
Ancona’s Wines & Liquors
will not be affected by the closing of the grocery store and will stay in business. A new tenant will move into the building, and a specialty market with Ancona’s products will fill the remaining space.

“This is incredibly bittersweet,,’’ Joe Ancona wrote on Facebook. “The new tenant opportunity came at a moment in time when it has become increasingly hard to compete with all of the food market choices in close proximity despite our best efforts.”

Joseph Ancona built a three-story building fronting Route 7 in Ridgefield in 1920. The existing building opened off Branchville Road in the early 1980s.

The market flourished and received several honors over the years. In March 2006, Joseph P. Ancona Jr. was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership in the grocery industry. In November 2006, Ancona’s was honored as one of the top family businesses in Connecticut by the University of Connecticut Small Business Center.

But the store has seen increasing competition in the past few years. Caraluzzi’s, a Bethel-based store, opened less than a mile away in Georgetown in 2003 and is considering an expansion to Danbury. Whole Foods also opened in Danbury last year.

“We thank everyone for their concerns and patronage over the years and Mitch will look forward to everyone’s continued loyalty to Ancona Wines,’’ Joe Ancona wrote. “We hope everyone will be excited when the new development is complete, and the Ancona family is committed to continuing to serve the community that we have been a part of for almost a century.”